Taxi Carjacking Suspect Shot, Killed By Police

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A man was shot and killed by police after allegedly carjacking a taxi cab in Minneapolis and leading police on a lengthy chase. Traffic in parts of the Twin Cities was tied up Thursday morning in the aftermath of the carjacking, which began in the Lowry Hill Tunnel.

Authorities said a man riding in a Red & White taxi cab pulled a gun on the cabbie along westbound Interstate 94 around 5 a.m.

The driver stopped in the tunnel and the suspect wound up carjacking the cab.

A police pursuit ensued through northeast Minneapolis that ended during the morning rush hour. Police put out stop sticks on northbound Interstate 35E, just south of the split with 35W.

The suspect ran over the spike strips on 35E at 80th Street in Columbus, causing the vehicle to go off the road and come to a stop in the right-side ditch.

Officers approached the vehicle and the man was shot and killed. A weapon was recovered at the scene but police say the details leading up to the shooting are still being investigated. They would not say whether the suspect pulled the gun on police or if he fired his weapon.

Police say until an autopsy can be completed, the suspect’s name will not be released. A total of six officers were involved in the incident and are all on administrative leave, per typical protocol. The officers include three state troopers, two Brooklyn Park police officers and one Minneapolis police officer.

The identities of the officers involved will not be released until all can be interviewed by investigators.

Authorities said the taxi cab driver who was carjacked is fine.

The manager of the cab company said he dropped the cab driver off at home Thursday afternoon. He said the driver wasn’t hurt but is at home resting with his family.

“The driver is good. He is at home and safe. He did the right thing and walked away from it and let the guy have the car,” said Pat White, general manager at Red and White Taxi.

White said the driver was flagged down by the suspect in South Minneapolis around 5 a.m. He was told to drive to an address in Brooklyn Park, which the cab driver figured out didn’t exist.

When the man couldn’t provide cash or a credit card, the driver pulled over in the Lowry Tunnel and asked the man to get out. That’s when the suspect carjacked him.

“Here we go again. We have had problems before, and as the economy gets bad we are going to have some more. It’s going to happen,” said White.

I-35E was closed in the area of I-35W as authorities continued to investigate. It was reopened around 1:30 p.m.

Officials say they have video from their squad cams of the incident, which will be part of the investigation. There were no officers injured in the shooting.

Let me guess No Buns go Un-Whipped – Other Tax payers money has been going to Whip your buns you whole life!!!! But since it’s been a week since EBS payday you are about aout of free money for the month!!!

I don’t think anybody was advocating for “wrist slapping”. It was was the calls for locking the guy up forever, or killing him, that prompted the call for compassion. What the man did was awful and it makes me angry -but not so angry that it clouds my judgement.

I agree with “fed up.” A carjacking is a very serious crime. It not only puts the life of the cab driver in mortal danger, but everyone else out driving at the time, as well. I would be willing to bet this is not the first crime on this thugs rap sheet. But, you’re right, let’s put him in jail for a bit, say he’s rehabilitated and then send him on his merry way to do something like this again, or worse.

Give me a break! Compassion? Love? “Dechen Compassion”, what color is the sky in your world? He is dead, it IS a good thing and one less loser on the streets. I have compassion, I have love….for my fellow man, those who respect and treat others with dignity and honor.

“They” don’t deserve it, “They” haven’t earned it…he is dead and that is the best news there could be for the situation. Why does MN keep breeding worhtless citizens like the criminal in the story and “Dechen Compasion”?!?!?

At least you read the article, Grim Reaper, its clear that the others did NOT. I would have to say that they were wrong in killing him, they could’ve wounded him enough to “cuff-n-stuff him, they did not need to shoot to kill!

agreed! he was a great man. i think this was his plan, and didn’t want to live anymore. not a good plan, but who knows what he was thinking when he did it. I know he wouldn’t have shot anyone cuz if you really knew him, he was a sweetheart. rib jb😦

Really JamieinMN, just a couple ppl before you ….Gary said “false he is black”. Just a thought…..maybe you should go back and read it again. Just a thought not tryin to get anyone fightin or mad just typing my opinions

People need to PAY ATTENTION while reading the story OR they are just plain too stupid to figure it out when it clearly states in the headline….”SHOT & KILLED. I’m not from MN. I was told a little by a friend who is a DR., a Christian, also this young mans “Stepfather” and after he told me I looked it up to see the story. “The Carjacker”. I just can’t believe how many of you ALL Judge before you know all of the story or maybe just more facts to go on . RIP J RIP My thoughts and prayers go out my friend and J altho he made a terrible mistake in which cost him his life!

Dechen Compassion what if this guy did this to you or one of your family memebers? I bet you would be thinking totally differently.
I say do us all a favor and put the suspect out of his misery and ours.

David, You should be ashamed of yourself for your comment. The Cops hands are tied too much. They put their life on the line everyday for everyone even people like you. Let them do their job any way possible. Police should not be charged with anything, if any give them a medal for getting the jacker off the streets.
Was this your brother or something?

The police said he had a gun. Do the police have it recorded to film so that we can verify their story? After the Metro Strike Task Force and a few other good reasons, they don’t deserve the benefit of doubt.

Yeah….because if it’s not on video, it didn’t happen, right? Maybe if you weren’t a turd gang member, the Gang Strike Force wouldn’t have stolen your TV. Guess you’ll have to watch Moesha somewhere else. Maybe the unemployment line or the food stamp counter. Get out. Take David with you.

Agreed that they do not deserve the benefit of the doubt….proof is required in a court of law, for all we know if was planted by the police. Even though what he did was a criminal act, shooting and killing him was not justified….it never is! Why could they not use rubber bullets, a taser? Lethal force by the police needs to be evaluated in this case.

He didn’t mean they don’t deserve the benefit of the doubt, you idiot. He’s saying cops already have too many rules to follow. Armed man steals cab (felony), leads police on a high speed chase (felony), crashes cab, then exits the cab armed with a gun. Let me ask you David, if this situation doesn’t justify the use of deadly force, what situation would? Now pretend, for a moment, you’re a cop and not a liberal slob. You’ve got a felon stopped and you see he has a gun in his hand. You going to run up and pepper spray him first? Or stand there, take the bullets out of your gun, and load your rubber bullets (which no longer exist anyways) as he walks toward you? The clown who stole this cab should have been drowned as a pup. The officers involved should be given a medal.

It was so justified….
Does it make it more justified if the police shot him a taser, then he freaks out and shot someone that you know to death? Or he ran over someone with the taxi? Lethal force is necessary to prevent him from injuring others.

This state is too soft, we need to be more strict to prevent criminal activity. We get a lot of repeat offenders.

What’s wrong with pursuits? God forbid police officers try to arrest someone for CARJACKING and ARMED ROBBERY. Maybe police everywhere should just lay down and let the scum bags take over. At least then nobody would be subjected to a high speed pursuit. Just another lefty idiot who thinks cops should use “other methods” to arrest the people. What’s your bright idea? Give him a hug and tell him “don’t worry, it’s not your fault. You’re just another victim of this system”? For some light reading, check out MN statute 609.066 aka authorized use of deadly force by peace officers. Maybe you and your life partner should find someplace else to live

So the clown is in heaven living the dream, Why should I feel bad?
If he were a member of my family I would apologize to everyone and thank the cops.
Wanna be a criminal AND a member of MY family, won’t happen, I don’t hide criminals from the law family or not and I’d rather the morons in my family tree get weeded out.

Sorry i desrcibed your family members, losers snap or do drugs to make them do things like this, was this ur dirty relative, i wouldnt even let u touch me feces ur not worth that even, go rob some1 useless waste of life

@captainobvious, I have noticed that you seem to be racist and hate A LOT!! Did something happen in your life that was so bad that you have to be so negative? Or are you one of them Jerks that think you are ALWAYS right and you can also do no wrong? If you have to always be so racist,hateful and hurtful, Why dont you just move to a different country or something? Or maybe just keep your words to yourself. Do you think anyone really wants to read what you have to say? No! And now i’m guessing that you are going to come back with some rude comment and probably call me names. And if thats what you have to do to make you feel better about yourself then so be it!!. I dont let words from such sorry soul hurt me. I’m guessing that you are so racist,rude and “opinionated” because it’s a computer. But How much you wanna bet that there is NO way you would ever come over to North Mpls and speak your mind to to ANYONE in person. so have your cowered fun in cyberspace. You are a very sad “being” and I hope you can find peace sometime in you life.

What reason would any1 go to north minneapolis? please name 1 thing there, so you right i would never come there, also why would i leave the country im from because, that would admit defeat to the stink thats invaded it, listen I work, i pay my mortgage, no1 in my family is a criminal, I receive not 1 free cent in aide from the state, im an asset not a liability to the state, think what you want im tired of freeloading baby making slime, hes a criminal he got shot why do you pity him, since you do hopefully its your mo9ther who is robbed next time and we’ll see if u understand

@ Captinobviously is a cowered….You took the words out of my mouth about the jerk because he’s OBVIOUSLY ignorant and thinks he and his family are saints!!! Captaionjerkoff needs a reality check….YOU’RE not the only person working, or not commiting crimes and living assistance free!!! It’s sad that you’re glad someone lost their life……I know what he did was wrong and I’m not justifying for him but if he did pose a threat to officers then they had to do their job and protect themselves but for you to not know the situation and be glad he’s dead is heartless!!!! I see you’re just CYBER-TOUGH!!!!! You really need to grow up and stop being so heartless, rude, ignorant, racist and a dumb ass!!!! I bet the ppl in North Minneapolis are glad that ppl like you don’t come their way b/c they ALL would be in jail from teaching you a lesson!!!!! GROW UP AND FAST!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey — ya’ll outta be jumping up and down. The dude is dead… DEAD. Ya’ll happy now? Pop a cork on the bottle …. maybe best wait to see if it wasn’t a drunken relative of yours is my rec. yep – check to make sure your relatives all safe and sound first.
In church on Sunday make sure ya’ll get up and say watch ya say here too. See how they react and maybe God will bless you too …. with a bolt of lightning to your skullcap. I mean — who knows eh

Don’t play the “what if he was your …. you would feel different” BS, I would feel the same, a criminal is a criminal, blood relative or not.
The guy could of pulled over at anytime and went to jail with little more than a few bruises but he didn’t make that choice.
Thank you for this one to the cops involved.

So criminals who victimize David R, and his family only needs to drive away fast and there is no worry about being shot, good information for a criminal to know. Be warned, thats not the case with Ed and his family.

I actually knew the hijacker. He was only 28 years old. He was a guy who made a mistake. Those of you that are saying it was deserved, are treating this guy like he some kind of murderer, for God sakes he stole a car. You should all be ashamed. Go to church, find God or Alla or something. And also think about the comments you are putting on here and consider the idea that his family members might be reading this article and seeing your hateful comments. Think about it.

….he stole a car….at gun point…. Yeah, there’s nothing wrong with that. We should all feel sorry for him. Lets look at the time line for a minute. Stole a car, at gun point none the less, took police on a highspeed chase, crashed, and due to his actions, was fatally shot by police. Sounds like more than one mistake to me. Quit trying to draw sympathy for him.

Thanks HtotheH,
Sorry this happened to someone you know. We should pray for everyone involved and be thankful that our own situation is not part of all the bad things that happen everyday. Help someone out today if you can or just be nice to someone.

And are you going to tell us this the first “mistake” he has made? Wrong!
Think about it, he made several “mistakes” back to back with no sign of change.
Your saying I should be ashamed for having little regard for his life?
He had none for my life.
I drive that road everyday at that time, I drove passed this morning, he may not have graduated to murderer but it was a matter of time.

To the family and friends, I have more than one major moron in my family too, I feel for you.

Yeah, my car was just stolen from my driveway last month. Im out 5000 + 2 car seats and stroller. So it kind of put a huge finacial burden on my family of 4. Stealing a car is not a mistake, this a hole deserves what he got. If I happend upon the person or people they would have met a similar fate.

@HtotheH I dont care if you did know the guy… And you say he was ONLY 28…. I am 2 years older than him and I know between right and wrong!!!! Would you be asking everyone to give him a break if he would have crashed into another car and killed someone? HE HAD A GUN HE STOLE THE CAR WHO’S TO SAY HE WASNT INTENDING ON KILLING SOMEONE. Chances are, the gun was NOT REGISTERED. SO THAT WOULD BE ANOTHER CRIME. I’m not saying i’m happy he is dead. And a lot of the comments that have been said were uncalled for. Maybe you should have told YOUR friend to go to church. the truth of the matter is, HE COMMITTED THE CRIME AND DIDNT SEEM TO CARE WHO WAS IN HIS WAY. So why should we care about HIM?? I’m sorry you friend is gone but… HE BROUGHT IT UPON HIMSELF!!!! He knew what he was doing. and in that, IT WAS NOT A MISTAKE…

Maybe a difference is he was under the influence of something. Judgement and common sense don’t exist then. just saying the obvious.

I am sure the officer that shot him will have second guessing the rest of his life in that could he have shot to disable vs kill. It happens fast. To fast.
I was in Nam – different and not different. You get a split second to make the call.
Hardest part to grasp is he did not hurt the driver nor does it seem it was ever his intent to do so. If he had come out without a weapon it would have been different or at least we hope so.
He made a huge mistake and it cost him his life. Did it need to – we shall never know.
For those here who wished him dead from the first reporting – God help you. That kind of thinking is not normal for anyone. It’s peverted to be blunt. Super sick

Are you kidding me? That’s the dumbest thing I’ve read all day!! He put many lives in danger and they did stop the man with the road stop. If you weren’t there then maybe you shouldn’t judge the police officers for doing their job!!
I hope you never call on the aid of an officer..you don’t deserve it

The article nowhere states he is a felon….your comment implies he was previously convicted of a felony and that was not mentioned in the article. The police still have to prove that he was armed…everyhting up to this point is only speculation….keep in mind, he is innocent until proven guillty, even though he is dead.

His past record is not important. I don’t care if he’s a convicted felon or an altar boy. By stealing a car at gunpoint, he’s committed several crimes; among them felony theft involving the use or threatened use of deadly force. And guess what…even if he isn’t armed, the police can still use deadly force if he posed a deadly threat, so the police need not prove any weapon existed. Now in this case, they’ll have the gun anyways, so hopefully that makes it easier to clear the officers involved.

chit for brains, the article never says wheteher the cab was northbound or westbound in the tunnel, i f he was southbound he may have took 35w north , hence taking them thru northeast minneapolis, you need to consider getting a life

I hope that the law ENFORCEMENT officer gets a solid GOLD medal from somebody for doing his/her job well. The thug reaped what he sowed, and I have no sympathy for him. He made the life-ending decisions, not the cops. The cops did their job, and I am thankful for it.

yep.
love it when they kill someone. good or bad. who cares. kaboom. we shot you dead, boom boom, you hit your head, bang bang, we got the man so dead, oh no, it wasn’t him, oh no, it was a kid, pop pop, we did the very wrong thing……

My name is captainobviouslyajerk, I am sorry, no one can tell another person what “normal” is. How do I know if my family is “normal”
I’m sorry I have been such a jerk to everyone. I am very rude and i have no respect for anyone but myself. I just cant help but hate everyone.

Yeah, here is what you get with a black dude talking politics. Hey brotha, why did you vote for that dude if you know about the world.
Hey HOMEBOY, I’ve done things that would give you shivers down your spine just thinking about it. See I don’t think you get it.
If that cabbie was white, he would have lost his life in Minneapolis and you wouldn’t be blaming the police.

Robbery at gunpoint, carjacking, and you are supporting him.
WAKE UP MINNESOTA! I know you think it is trendy to be with Obama. But THIS is the face of the voters.
THE PEOPLE THAT DEFEND THE CARJACKER OVER THE POLICE ARE THE OBAMA SUPPORTERS. Open you eyes, if these supporters see you getting robbed in thier neighborhood, THEY WOULD JOIN RIGHT IN. And that is the truth.

Thank you for slapping tragedy around, I am not here to spell check my work, its called fast typing. My definition of a normal family, work, or go to school, not commit crimes, pay your bills and not receive your paycheck in the mail from the government. If you want to call me a jerk thats fine, i will never meet any of you so i could care less what you think, you can live 50 more years or get hit by a bus tomarrow same difference to me. I think its time people take some responsibility for thier actions this guy did, and it ended a tragedy to some and justice to others

pretty obvious my the shher amount if time you spend here and the number of posts you do that you do not work nor own a spell check tool.
Hope no family either as you sure are neglecting them again today. 😉

I see we have a lot of members of the KKK or such here.
I also am truggling to find any Christians posting above too. No surprise at that – hate and loathing is not the way of the Lord.
I pray none of you are neighbors of mine or attend my church. That truly would be a disturbing situation for me and others who are people of faith

That was THE MOST racist thing said on this post. Do not hide in your skin like you are unable to be racist. Do not forget it is the Democrat party only, that associates with the disgusting KKK. You must be of a false faith, how much do you make on donations?

okay while all of you people that want to call “this guy” a criminal or a lowlife or anythign degrading just knoe he is my cousin and he will be missed very much. he didnt do it out of rage or anything like that it was Suicide…. so while you all want to leave your nasty coments know that he was a very good person just having hard times in life it happens. he could have killed that cab driver but he didnt and he didnt kill him because he is not that kind of person now hes dead do to a not clear minded cop that fired, probally knowing his LIFE WAS NOT IN DANGER.

Pathetic liar, you are a grassroots KKK rightist who is from the Bachmann Camp of hate and attempting to pull the wool over our eyes with your deft tricks.
It happens everyday on the forums, a right winger sneaking in with WMD’s hiding just around the corner. Tricksters ..

Devante, I am sorry your cousin chose this path to commit suicide. Suicide by cop is tragic to so many people. Not only does it affect his family, but also the officers and their families. Your cousin made it appear he was going to shoot an officer and FIVE, not one, but FIVE officers made the decision to shoot. How tragic that he wanted to end his life, and how tragic that FIVE officers will forever remember they were forced to make that decision.

I get it. But why put innocents lives in danger? Why change the lives for all involved forever? If you want to kill yourself, hang yourself from the rafters. Don’t bring everyone else down with you. Cops don’t like to kill people but sometimes it is a part of their job. If he were allowed to continue on his rampage how many other innocent people would have been victimized?

Hey you wimps. Crime is not what you see on Law And Order; Crime is also deep in the racist black community. They want what you have, they feel they deserve it, and many will do anything to take it, the rest will harbor them.
Wake up America. The ones defending him and calling US racist are our enemy.

I cannot believe how rude this world is today! If you were this mans family member or friend would you want to read these terrible posts! Think before you speak people! Everyone is so quick to judge others and comment on something that they know little about. You all need to step back and realize we are ALL human and all mistakes in our lives! Yes he made a mistake and yes the choices he made were not thought out or rational, however you know nothing about the situation to lead to this event! And to top off all of the negativity some of you want to bring race into the mix! SERIOUSLY people! WE ARE ALL HUMAN! We all have blood pumping through our bodies and we all bleed red!